By Bamidele Atoyebi

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‎The transition from a candidate’s promise to a president’s policy is often a journey of compromise, yet the current administration is proving that for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the “Renewed Hope” manifesto was a precise engineering manual for national restructuring. To observe the current Nigerian landscape is to see a leader who believes that ideas must translate into ideology, and that ideology must manifest as a visible action plan. 

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‎At the heart of this transformation is the aggressive pursuit of economic recovery. The administration’s bold decision to remove the fuel subsidy was not a reactive measure but a calculated step explicitly outlined on Page 37, which stated, “We shall phase out the fuel subsidy.” By addressing these structural imbalances, the President aimed to move the nation toward a state of shared prosperity as envisioned in the early summary of his 2023 agenda. By fulfilling this promise, the government has saved approximately ₦4 trillion annually, allowing the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to double its distributions to states, thereby providing more funds for grassroots development.

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‎For nearly five decades, Nigeria’s fiscal architecture remained stagnant, burdened by a tax system nearly fifty years old that was riddled with systemic loopholes and inefficiencies. Recognizing that a modern economy cannot thrive on archaic rules, President Tinubu’s administration has aggressively pursued the promise to review the corporate tax system and eliminate those taxes that do not serve the public interest (Page 16). By operationalizing the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, the government has moved to block these long-standing leakages while simultaneously protecting the most vulnerable. This achievement is highlighted by the recent exemption of over 60 essential items including food, education, and health from Value Added Tax (VAT), ensuring that while the wealthy and large corporations contribute their fair share, the poorest in society are shielded from inflation.

Through this strategic recalibration, the administration has seen a record 30% increase in non-oil revenue, proving that by fixing a 50-year-old problem, the President is truly working the talk of the manifesto.

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‎The drive for a stable currency is also a documented priority. On Page 11, the President explicitly committed to a “buy Nigerian” philosophy, emphasizing that the country must export more and import less to naturally strengthen the Naira. This focus on trade balance is currently being mirrored in policies designed to boost local production and reduce the heavy reliance on foreign goods. This focus on trade balance is currently being realized through the “Naira-for-Crude” policy initiated in late 2024, which mandates the sale of crude oil to local refineries like Dangote in Naira. This achievement has directly reduced pressure on foreign exchange reserves, which have surged to over $45 billion, stabilizing the national economy as planned.

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‎Education has emerged as a cornerstone of this administration’s social contract. The vision to make higher education accessible and affordable for every Nigerian was clearly articulated on Page 44. This vision found its physical form in the Student’s Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, which established the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), turning a major campaign promise into a functional lifeline for thousands of students. NELFUND which within 23 months of its launch, has disbursed over ₦206 billion to more than 1.16 million students across 270 institutions.

By turning this campaign promise into a functional lifeline, the government has ensured that financial lack is no longer a barrier to tertiary education.

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‎Another defining achievement of the Renewed Hope agenda in the education sector is the restoration of stability to the Nigerian university system, fulfilling the President’s personal pledge that four years will be four years. This was achieved not through temporary fixes, but by concluding a historic 16-year renegotiation stalemate and signing a landmark agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in early 2026. Beyond ensuring an uninterrupted academic calendar, the administration introduced a transformative welfare package, including a 40% salary increase for all lecturers and a specialized Professorial Cadre Allowance. This top-up of approximately ₦145,000 monthly (₦1.74 million per annum) has successfully brought the total take-home pay for senior professors to over ₦1 million monthly, effectively reversing the “brain drain” and making the Nigerian academic environment globally competitive once again.

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‎Even more significant is the introduction of a life pension for the academic elite. Under this new framework, professors and associate professors who retire at the statutory age of 70 are now entitled to a pension equivalent to 100% of their final annual salary for life. By aligning academic retirement benefits with those of judges and military generals, the President has moved beyond rhetoric to prove that he truly “means the manifesto.” This achievement ensures that those who dedicate their lives to research and mentorship can retire with the same dignity they brought to the classroom, proving that in this administration, the plan is indeed the policy.

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‎A pivotal but often overlooked dimension of the President’s vision is the complete overhaul of vocational training, fulfilling the manifesto’s pledge to reforming our education system with a focus on technical and vocational education. To bridge the national skills gap, the administration has moved beyond traditional classroom learning to establish a network of Free Federal Technical Colleges across the country. In a historic move to encourage enrollment and support students from low-income backgrounds, the government introduced a ₦45,000 monthly stipend for every student enrolled in these accredited technical programs. This achievement has already seen a 40% surge in enrollment for critical trades such as solar installation, mechanical engineering, and digital fabrication. By providing both free tuition and a living allowance, the President is working the talk to ensure that Nigeria’s youth are not just educated, but are equipped with the high-demand technical skills necessary to drive the nation’s industrial rebirth

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‎Parallel to educational advancement is the drive for youth and women empowerment through the digital economy. Found on Page 61, the manifesto details plans to harness emerging sectors to provide sustainable livelihoods for the younger generation. By integrating technology into the national economic fabric, the administration is seeking to create a modern workforce capable of competing on a global scale. To achieve this, the administration launched the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme and consumer credit initiatives (CREDICORP), which have already provided thousands of young entrepreneurs with the capital and credit needed to drive grassroots innovation and inclusive growth.

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‎Infrastructure, particularly in the energy sector, remains a critical pillar. The pledge to “enlighten lives” by generating, transmitting, and distributing sufficient and affordable electricity is documented in the manifesto . The administration’s current efforts to resolve systemic debts within the power sector are direct attempts to fulfill the detailed power reforms expanded upon on Pages 30 through 32. A landmark achievement in this regard is the signing of the Electricity Act 2023, which decentralized the power sector and allowed states to generate their own power, alongside the inauguration of the ANOH Gas Processing Plant which boosted domestic gas supply by 500 million standard cubic feet per day.

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‎Security is being addressed through a “strong yet adaptive” architecture. On Page 6, the manifesto outlines the goal to eliminate terror and kidnapping through total reform. This is being realized through the proposed creation of Anti-Terrorist Battalions (ABATTS), detailed on Page 9, and the revitalization of the Forest Guard, as outlined on Page 11, to seize the initiative back from criminal elements in rural areas. In a major strategic breakthrough, the President sanctioned the National Forest Guard system in May 2025, recruiting over 130,000 operatives to reclaim Nigeria’s 1,129 forest reserves. This initiative has already led to the graduation of 7,000 elite field operatives and the neutralization of high-profile bandit kingpins.

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‎The administration has shifted from direct combat to a “strangulation” strategy, targeting the financial lifeblood of criminal networks. By leveraging the NFIU to block terrorism financing, Nigeria achieved a major milestone in October 2025: removal from the FATF Grey List. This exit has restored global trust, rebranding the nation as a credible financial partner rather than a high-risk jurisdiction.

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‎This renewed credibility has unlocked vital international alliances, with President Tinubu securing intelligence and defense pacts with the U.S., UK, and France.

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‎Agriculture and food security have also been elevated to matters of national survival. The policy to assist farmers and ensure they have the tools to feed the nation is located on Page 26-29. By prioritizing agricultural productivity, the administration is following the manifesto’s roadmap to ensure that no parent is compelled to send a child to bed hungry. By declaring a state of emergency on food production, the administration unlocked ₦100 billion in fertilizer support and procured billions of Naira worth of mechanized farming equipment.

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‎True to the statement that “Home ownership  is a source of prosperity social stability and individual pride”, the administration has moved with unprecedented speed to bridge the national housing gap. The “Renewed Hope Cities and Estates” program has transitioned from a campaign goal to a tangible reality, with over 100,000 housing units currently under construction across the six geopolitical zones, including the flagship 3,112-unit project in Karsana, Abuja. By introducing the Pulako Initiative a resettlement program for communities affected by banditry and launching the first-ever National Social Housing Portal, the government has moved beyond luxury real estate to ensure that “the dream of homeownership is accessible to every Nigerian worker” (Page 6). This achievement not only provides roofs over heads but has already stimulated the economy by creating over 250,000 direct and indirect jobs for artisans and laborers.

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‎What distinguishes this administration is the traceability of its actions. Whether it is the review of corporate tax systems or the expansion of government revenue, each move can be traced back to the broader turnaround strategy detailed in the original 80-page document. This level of consistency suggests a leader who is strictly adhering to a pre-defined path of national development.

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‎As the administration progresses, the Renewed Hope manifesto continues to serve as the ultimate yardstick for success. President Tinubu is demonstrating that he is not a regular leader who discards his promises once in office; instead, he is a strategist who views his manifesto as a binding contract. The journey reflects a steady march toward the goals set out in 2023, proving that in this presidency, the plan is indeed the policy.

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Bamidele Atoyebi is the Convener of BAT Ideological Group, National Coordinator of Accountability and Policy Monitoring and a publisher at Unfiltered and Mining Reporting